


Deceit's Place

by Hamiltalian



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-01-31 11:15:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18590146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hamiltalian/pseuds/Hamiltalian
Summary: Deceit finds his unexpected place with the Sides.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of this tumblr post. https://devil-towne.tumblr.com/post/184257587470/kinda-random-and-maybe-a-bit-ooc-but-give-me

Patton hummed a tune to himself as he walked down the hallway of the mind palace, something catching his eye. That was funny. He’d passed that hallway so many times before, but this was the first time he remembered seeing a door there. He tilted his head in thought. The other sides would’ve told him if they made a new room, right?

Maybe it was a surprise! Oh, they knew how he loved surprises!

Patton smiled widely and began to step away from the door. After all, he wouldn’t want to ruin it.. But.. He supposed a peek wouldn’t hurt.

No.. That wouldn’t be right. If they didn’t want him to see it, he really shouldn’t..

On the other hand.. If he had an idea what it was, he could make sure he wasn’t too surprised, so he could still thank them. And, besides, maybe they wanted him to see it. After all, a random door basically screamed Patton’s name!

That settled it! He carefully turned the door knob and took the smallest peek inside, his eyes going wide at what he saw.

An open zoo! They really did know how much Patton adored animals!

He squealed to himself and looked around, his smile fading as he saw a far too familiar black cape flowing about.

Deceit… What was he doing there? Actually, it was pretty obvious. He was going to ruin the zoo! Probably put one of his evil spells over the cute animals…

Well, that wouldn’t stand!

Patton opened the door wider and walked in, marching over to Deceit and tapping his shoulder. “Excuse me, mister, but what are you doing here?”

Deceit turned around, his signature grin on his face as he realized it was Patton standing there. “Oh, Morality, I totally heard you coming. You honestly didn’t surprise me one bit.”

“Well, surprised or not, you need to answer my question. What are you up to this time, mister?” he asked sternly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I was going to ask you the same thing. It’s not very moral of you to sneak around in someone else’s space.”

Okay… Now Patton was confused. “What do you mean ‘someone else’s space’?”

The slithery side shrugged a bit before explaining. “Well, you and the rest of the sides have your own room, don’t you?”

“Well.. Yeah..”

Deceit raised an eyebrow. “Oh, it’s clearly not obvious, is it? Ever since Thomas accepted I was a side, albeit a side nobody likes very much, I have been granted the ability to create my own room. So, I took the liberty of giving myself something even more free,” he explained, opening his arms wide to gesture at the space.

The moral side was still a bit confused… “Why would you pick something so… cute?”

“How open minded of you,” Deceit deadpanned. “People can enjoy things, Patton. This isn’t a world where everyone’s personality can be stuffed into a box.”

“Huh.. I’m sorry, I just never took you for the animal loving type. Especially not cute, fluffy animals like these.”

“Well, I supposed you can judge a book by it’s cover, can’t you?”

Patton shrugged, feeling kind of guilty. Deceit wasn’t a very good person, but he supposed the other at least deserved a room if he was an official side.

Deceit cleared his throat, making Patton look up instinctively.

“As much as I… love… having you around,” Deceit began before pointing towards the door.

“Oh, alright. I know when I’m not wanted.” Patton huffed a bit and left the room, wishing he at least got to pet one bunny before he did so.

That night, Patton began making dinner for all of his kiddos when he realized.. Should he make an extra plate for Deceit?.. After all, if he had a room, maybe Patton should-

His thoughts were cut off by Roman zipping into the room, a look of distress on his face as he ran to Logan, who was helping Patton make dinner. Patton helped make dinner with love and Logan helped make sure the tomatoes didn’t get all squishy when they were cut.

“What seems to be upsetting you?” Logan asked, turning away from said tomatoes.

“I found this poor little creature out on my latest quest and I just had to bring it here,” the princely side explained, opening his hands to reveal an injured bird. “I just don’t know how to care for it..”

“Oh. That’s a simple task. Splint it’s wing, put it in a lined box, feed it, and give it water until it can fly home.”

Roman nodded, but looked at the logical side expectantly.

“Yes?”

“How do I do that?!”

“Simple. Splint it’s wing, put it in a lined box, feed it, and give it water until it can fly home.”

Roman sighed, exasperated. “Oh, you are no help! Virgil takes care of his tarantula, perhaps he will tell me.”

Logan pushed up his glasses. “After you made fun of him for it? Who’s to say he won’t feed the bird to his tarantula?”

Patton was surprised at the accusation. “Logan, I’m surprised at you! My little Virgil would never do such a thing. But, Roman… I might know someone who can help… But you’re not going to like it.”

“I’ll do anything for the poor thing to fly again,” Roman assured, stepping towards Patton. “Tell me. Who is this mysterious healer you speak of?” No matter what kind of quest it would take, Roman would make sure that the creature once again was able to live it’s life.

“I would like to see, too. I wonder who has more knowledge than I when it comes to these matters,” Logan said, cleaning his hands.

Patton turned off the stove and did the same before leading them to the new door.

“I’ve never seen this door,” Roman pointed out.

“This door has never been here. What has caused it to appear?” Logan asked.

Patton didn’t respond, knocking on the door instead.

It was only a minute before he received a response, Deceit poking his head through the door. “Yesss?”

“Deceit!” Roman cried out. “I will protect you, my feathered friend!” he shouted as he unsheathed his sword.

“Roman! No, Roman! Put the sword away!” Patton called back, using his outside voice.

“But-”

“Deceit is who I meant. I saw him with a ton of animals earlier, maybe he can help.”

“Oh, no, Patton, I rather like Roman holding his sword to my neck,” Deceit remarked, looking completely unamused.

“Sorry..” Patton helped Roman lower his sword.

“I’m sorry,” Logan began, “but you thought to ask Deceit about animals over letting him take my advice?” he asked, almost looking offended.

Deceit yawned. “Well, if you guys are just going to insult me, might I go back to my own business?”

Patton smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry.. Roman found an injured birdie and I was kinda hoping you can help him take care of the little guy..”

Deceit looked… genuinely surprised. But, seconds later, it morphed into an almost devious look.

“Alright. If Roman can ask for my help, I will assist him in healing the little bird.”

Roman growled, ready to use his sword until Patton put a hand on his shoulder.

“Come on, Princey.. Even a prince can ask for help sometimes.”

And it was a low blow to his ego, but Roman knew Patton was right. He huffed and put down his sword, looking Deceit in his mismatched eyes. “Deceit, will you-”

“Of course I will, just give me a moment,” Deceit interrupted before shutting the door.

Before anyone could react, the door was opened once more and Deceit walked out with a shoebox in hand. “Alright, where shall we do this? The kitchen, perhaps?”

“Uh- Sure,” Roman said, acting like he knew what was happening.

“Splendid.” Deceit walked with the other three sides to the kitchen and sat at the dining table, patting the seat next to him for Roman.

The creative side clenched his teeth and looked at Patton, wondering if he was serious about this. And the way Patton smiled and nodded towards the table said he was.

Roman sighed and joined Deceit at the table, still carefully holding the bird. “Oh, alright.”

“Good.” Deceit opened the box, revealing the fact that it was quite literally made for this situation. The inside was lined with what looked like old shirts and there was a roll of bandages and what looked like a tongue depressor. “Let me see the little guy,” Deceit asked, holding out his hand.

Roman held the bird away defensively and shook his head. He found the bird, it was his responsibility to make sure the little guy was safe.

Deceit sighed. “Roman, I know you don’t trust me, but I can’t help the poor thing when you flinch it away every time I move.”

And, as much as Roman hated to admit it, loathed, in fact, he knew Deceit was right. He sighed and handed the bird over.

“Thank you.” Deceit made quick, but careful, work of putting the bird in a splint, the other sides watching in silence and only being disturbed by Virgil’s late appearance.

“Here we go.. Just one ore wrap around and-”

“Deceit?! What the heck is he doing here and why are you all just standing there?” Virgil asked as he saw the dark side, looking at everyone for an answer.

Patton smiled sheepishly. “It’s a long story.. But Roman found this poor birdie and Deceit was helping Roman take care of it. He’s good with animals.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Deceit? Good with animals?”

“The truth hurts, doesn’t it?” Deceit remarked. “Now, if you please, I can’t work like this. I need silence to help the poor thing.”

Patton nodded and looked at Virgil. “Can you please be quiet for a teensy second?.. Then you can complain about Deceit all you want.”

Virgil rolled his eyes and dropped himself into a chair, watching Deceit in action. “Well, don’t let me stop you.”

Deceit turned back to the bird and finished the splint before placing the bird in the box.

“What about food or water?” Roman asked. “It is a living creature, after all.”

“True, but the poor thing is far too scared to eat or drink, as one could imagine. That will be tomorrow’s lesson. For now, be careful not to rattle it and tell me if something else goes wrong.” He began to rise to leave, pausing as he heard Virgil stand up suddenly and run out of the room.

“Virgil?” Patton asked, jogging after him. “Where are you going, kidd- Ahh!” He screamed his girlish scream as Virgil came back, holding a small cage against his chest.

The anxious side ground his teeth and held out the cage towards Deceit, looking away in embarrassment. He knew his precious pet tarantula was just molting, he’d done hours and hours of research as soon as it started, but… He just wanted to be sure. “What’s happening to him?”

Deceit hummed in thought and reached for the latch, glancing up at Virgil. “May I?”

“Yeah, whatever…” Virgil grumbled, unlatching the cage for him. “I usually keep him in his terrarium, but I can’t move that whole thing and there’s no way you’re ever going into my room.”

“Yes, because this definitely makes you seem like an irresponsible pet owner,” Deceit said with a small chuckle as he reached in and pulled the tarantula from the cage, resulting in another ear piercing screech from Patton.

“Get it away! Get it away!” he cried out from the other side of the room, clinging to Logan for dear life.

Deceit ignored them and recognized what was happening as soon as the spider curled up in his palm. Well, he recognized what was happening as soon as he saw the big guy, but it wasn’t everyday that he got to hold a tarantula. “He’s just preparing for molting,” Deceit assured. “Some time in a few weeks, he will shed his skin,” he explained as he gently set the creature back in it’s cage. “After that, don’t touch him for at least a week or so, okay?”

Virgil nodded and locked the cage. “I knew that.. And I still hate you.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Deceit said with a shrug, watching Virgil take his pet back to his room before looking at Patton. “Aren’t you his father? If you didn’t want him to have a tarantula, surely he would’ve listened.”

“I let him.. But I made him promise to keep it in his room,” Patton explained as he straightened out Logan’s now rumpled clothing, then his own. “I will make an exception for this, but if I see that thing again, you can bet your hat he’s grounded.”

“Quite. Well, I should be heading back to my room now. You four enjoy your dinner,” Deceit said with a wave before beginning to leave.

“Wait!” Patton called back, making Deceit turn.

Patton smile his dad smile, one full of soft emotion and the intent of caring for someone, anyone who needs it. “Well.. Maybe you can stay for dinner? It must be lonely to eat all by yourself.”

Deceit smiled and turned towards him, gauging whether or not he actually meant it. “Patton… No.”

Patton’s face dropped in surprise before it morphed into one of sadness. “Why not?..”

“Oh, Patton.. I’m not one of you. You know it. The other sides know it. No mount of fluffy animals will ever change that,” he said with a shrug before leaving.

And, for once, Roman couldn’t comment on what a jerk he was. Logan found that it wasn’t time to point out that he was right. Even Virgil, from the top of the stairs, knew Deceit was right.

And so did Patton.

Deceit was a dark side. That’s how they saw him and who knew what would change that.

Deceit had no idea that anything could even change it. If it did, they’d expect him to give up his constant lying, to only use it for good. That just wasn’t him. He wasn’t the worst dark side, that was for sure. But he also wasn’t a light side, either.

As he sat under a tree, birds in his hair, snakes on his arms, and smaller, furrier animals piled in his lap, he knew he was happy that way. Why fix what wasn’t broken?


	2. Chapter 2

Logan stretched as he got up and walked to the fridge, getting a jar of Crofters to satisfy his hunger as he and Patton read through the Harry Potter book series again, stopping in his tracks as he saw someone else rummaging through the fridge already. Someone with bright yellow gloves.

“Deceit,” Logan called out, adjusting his glasses as the reptilian side turned to face him. “What are you doing here?”

“Hello, Logan. I’m certainly not looking for something to feed my many pets with,” he grumbled, holding up a handful of carrots. “I’m most definitely not having trouble making my own vegetables and taking them from you is far from easier, anyways.” He shut the refrigerator door, looking curiously at Logan and the glint in his eyes.

“You’re having difficulties with botany? Perhaps you could use some help.”

Deceit hummed in thought. “Alright. Would you-”

“Logan! What’s taking you so long?” Patton asked as he walked in, quickly spotting Deceit. He smiled a bit and put down the hood to his cat hoodie. “Hi.. What’s going on in here?”

Logan cleared his throat. “Deceit was having some botanic issues.”

“Some.. What?”

Deceit sighed and held up the handful of carrots. “My animals don’t need feeding. My garden is not dying. This is not the best solution.”

“Oh!” Patton smiled widely. “I’m so good at gardening things, I can help you!”

Logan’s eyebrow twitched a bit. “Actually, I was just about to-”

“Oh, were you going to ask Virgil instead? He is pretty good with houseplants and Deceit is technically growing plants in the house.” Patton thought for a split second before going up to Virgil’s room, leaving Logan with Deceit.

“So,” Deceit began, “I’m assuming that Patton guessed what you said perfectly?” he asked, sarcasm heavier than ever, weighed down by frustration.

Unfortunately, Logan managed not to catch it. In his eyes, the use of sarcasm cancelled out Deceit’s natural tendency to lie. “Certainly. Patton cares for most of the flowers in the garden. He’s the logical choice for this matter. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to read our books.”

Deceit sighed. There was no getting through that thick skull of his, was there?

“I’m back with my emo son!” Patton announced as he dragged Virgil into the kitchen. “He said he’d help us!”

“I said whatever,” Virgil corrected. “I’m only here because Patton asked. I still don’t like you.”

“That completely surprises me,” Deceit muttered as he lead them over to his room. “Nothing’s quite dead yet, but they’re getting there.” He opened the door and allowed the anxious and the moral side into his room, Virgil hissing as the sun his his face.

“My eyes!”

“Oops! Sorry, Virge, I should’ve warned you,” Patton said sheepishly.

“Well, he definitely has the sun and heat aspect down. We know that’s not the problem,” Virgil grumbled as he pulled his hood up.

“Of course that’s not the problem, I totally don’t have the light shining twenty four hours out here anyways.”

Patton’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Wait, do you actually keep it this hot and bright all day and night?”

“I’m half snake. I don’t find it enjoyable to keep it warm.”

“Oh, well that’s your problem! Let’s see that garden of yours.”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Deceit’s plants were under watered and sunburnt, so it wasn’t long before he was finally able to get the other two sides out of there, before he was able to be alone again. And he was able to enjoy it for a few days before he had a visitor.

Logan wasn’t sure why, but he felt compelled to go to Deceit’s room after dinner a few days later. Whatever it was, he was sure there was a valid reason to do so, so he knocked on the door and crossed his arms as he waited for a response, Deceit’s human half peeking through the door only a minute or so after.

“Yess?”

Logan cleared his throat. “I just wanted to make sure that the advice that Patton and Virgil gave you is working out.”

Deceit opened the door a bit wider. “Come on in and see for yourself.”

Deceit had too much pride to simply conjure up some food for his animals, but it was a magic area. Everything matured at the speed of a Minecraft plant, so there was a huge area of crops overflowing with vegetables and small animals enjoying them.

“Wow. There is a lot more growing here than I expected.”

Deceit nodded. “Well, once Virgil and Patton gave me advice, it was easy to get everything blooming.”

“I see. I’m glad they were able to help you. Now, I’m sure you’ll be wanting me to leave.”

Deceit grabbed Logan’s shoulder as he turned around, the logical side looking at him, confused.

“I never said that. Why don’t you stay for a little while? Maybe you can give me some more tricks for this kind of thing.”

There was that glint again. How perfect it was that it was the logical side whose eyes did such an illogical thing as light up a room.

“I suppose I could help.”

It took no further convincing for Logan to lead Deceit around the fields of vegetables, giving him small tips for each thing. Which plants needed more water, which plants did best in a slightly cooler environment, which plants were perfect as they were.

And, of course, Deceit took note of everything he said. Logan was ranting, but there was no “extra” notes, nothing to ignore. Even when Logan marvelled over the fact that being imaginary allowed Deceit to create the perfect biome for each seasonal plant with the snap of his fingers because, as Logan pointed out, Deceit had been smart enough to separate them by season already. Even when Logan brought up that carrots actually weren’t all that healthy for rabbits, which explained why they was such a huge excess there. Everything was important because Deceit knew that the most important was what always went ignored. Logan wasn’t smiling, but he was clearly happy, overjoyed even.

It made Deceit think. Patton was almost always happy. Even Virgil seemed happy when he wasn’t busy being miserable. Roman was... Well, he was Roman. Deceit didn’t have a reason to care about how he felt. But Logan.. He was the clear odd man out. And of course Deceit cared. He knew what it was like. And, while he was a liar, he was no villain.

“Logan,” Deceit began as the other side finally took a pause to catch his breath. “Maybe tomorrow you can come and give me some tips on how to care for the animals themselves. I’m not having any particular trouble, but there’s no harm in a little bit of extra help, is there?”

Deceit almost could’ve sworn he saw the corner of Logan’s lips twitch up a bit, not that he was watching.

“I can assure you there isn’t. I’ll be back tomorrow and we can discuss it, but for now, it’s getting late. Goodnight Deceit.”

“Goodnight, Logan.” Deceit watched for a few more seconds as Logan walked off before going to bed himself.

As Logan shut Deceit’s door behind him, he realized that he felt a strange sensation in his abdominal region. He concluded that he enjoyed helping Deceit with his plant problem, but almost felt like it was a bad thing.

He shrugged it off and asked himself a question that the other sides made him ask almost every other day. How could something that he enjoyed, something harmless that made him feel good, ever be bad?


	3. Chapter 3

Roman hummed to himself as he walked down to Deceit’s room, feeling elated on that particular morning. In the weeks since he’d rescued his feathered friend, the little bird had grown to trust Roman and to eat and drink on his own. It seemed like the right time to let him fly on his own. So, he found himself at Deceit’s door, knocking on the door and waiting with his signature royal grin.

Unfortunately, it seemed like Deceit couldn’t be bothered to answer. Roman tutted and knocked again after a few minutes, then again after five more before deciding to just let himself in. Maybe Deceit was having a cat nap. Or.. A reptile rest? Serpent sleep? Whatever he was having, Roman needed someone to help with his bird and it wouldn’t hurt to just wait inside, would it?

He pushed the door open and stepped inside, walking towards some of the many shrubs in the room and opening the box. Roman smiled at the little bird that sat in it and scooped it out with a gentle hand.

“Let’s see.. How did Deceit do these bandages?” he asked himself, inspecting the wing closely. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt the poor thing, but he was sure it was tired of being bandaged up. He began taking them apart, struggling with the ties until he heard the snap of a twig. Roman froze in place, wrapping his hand around the grip of his sword.

“Isn’t it a little cold for flying lessons?”

Before he could think, he drew his sword, watching as the swing of his blade was stopped by that of another. Roman looked past it and into the mismatched eyes of it’s owner.

“You’re not the only one who can wield a sword, you know,” Deceit said as he swung his cane sword. He aimed near the hilt of Roman’s sword, knocking it out of the prince’s hand, and thrusted his sword at Roman’s throat.

Roman gritted his teeth and backed up against the tree. “Oh, I get it. Payback for when I did this to you the first time we met?”

Deceit shrugged. “Maybe.. I hope you know you look terrible in such a vulnerable position.”

Roman fought the blush that threatened to rise to his cheeks. “I’m a prince, I’m gorgeous no matter what I do. But I didn’t come to talk about me, believe it or not.”

“How typical,” Deceit joked, sheathing his sword once more.

Roman picked up his own sword and put it back in its sheath. “I’m here about my bird. I think he’s ready to fly once more.” He showed Deceit the creature that had been hidden in his hand.

Deceit smiled a bit and took the bird from him, glad to see that it hadn’t been too shaken by their encounter. “He looks healthy and strong. You’ve fed him as I’ve instructed?”

“I took your instructions seriously.”

Deceit nodded, deciding against telling Roman that some of those tips came from Logan. Instead, he knelt down and set the bird down on a bush, carefully unwrapping the bandages and the splint from his wing.

The little bird stretched out as soon as it’s wing was free, singing a happy song as the two sides watched.

One last time, Deceit picked up the little bird and cradled it gently, offering him to Roman. “It really makes your day to see these guys flying for their first time..”

Roman seemed to hesitate for a second before taking the bird, holding it just as gently as he did the first time he ever picked it up. “Thank you..” The creative side took a few steps away from the bushy area and towards the open sky, opening his hands and watching as his bird took flight for the first time with a front row seat.

Deceit smiled and stayed back where he was, watching from a distance. There was such a softness about the expression on Roman’s face. It was incredibly different from the usual cocky grin or blank look on his face. “I’ve never seen this expression on your face..”

Roman’s eyes widened for a split second in alarm and he returned to his usual cocky grin. “It brings me joy to see a creature taking flight for the first time.”

Deceit raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “And that totally explains why you were so quick to switch to your ‘prince’ face.”

Roman shrugged. “It’s not like you’d care if anything was wrong.. Not that anything’s wrong!”

“And why wouldn’t I care? I’m a liar, I’m not heartless.”

The creative side hesitated for a split second. He’d been so desperate to share, he couldn’t think before he began to speak. “Fine. Every time I begin to act childishly, Virgil picks on me and the second I argue back, Patton comes up and defends him.. I mean, Virgil’s words wouldn’t bug me when we’re alone, but Patton just eggs him on and doesn’t let me get a word in.”

Deceit rolled his eyes. He knew how Virgil was, he could take playful insults like a champ, a trait that he seemed to share with the princely side, but for Patton to make it a one sided fight at the snap of a finger was unfair. “That’s completely fair,” Deceit said with a scoff. “Virgil definitely can’t handle himself.”

“I know.. But what am I supposed to do?.. Besides, it’s like Logan says. People hardly take me seriously as a prince who loves Disney. As a prince who loves Disney and cartoons and other childish joys, nobody can look at me as more than a child.. I don’t want that..”

Deceit sighed. “I can talk to Logan.” After all, Logan knew very well what it was like to hide a part of himself for the sake of image. “Until then, you’re more than welcome to come here and do what you want. Make your own corner, like Logan as.” He pointed towards the door that was off to the edge of the room, covered in constellations. “I’ve never been in there and I promise it’ll be just as private for you.” It was Logan’s safe space. If he wanted to show something do Deceit, he was free to, but he’d never push Logan to show him anything.

And the offer was incredibly generous. Roman’s eyes had a certain sparkle that Deceit had never seen before. A child-like glint that someone might expect from Patton, if they couldn’t see past the innocent act. “I.. I would love that.. Thank you.” Roman smiled widely and pulled Deceit into a hug, ignoring the cold of his skin.

Deceit practically melted into the affection and awkwardly wrapped his arms around Roman, unfamiliar with what was happening. Was he even supposed to reciprocate? He knew he was cold, Logan had mentioned it in his tests of Deceit’s biology, so it couldn’t have been nearly as enjoyable for Roman as it was for Deceit himself.

But Roman wasn’t bothered by it at all. Deceit could’ve been frozen by the spell of a distressed queen and Roman still would’ve held him as close as he did. And it wasn’t because he just loved the affection. It was because, for once, someone finally saw him. No.. Deceit was doing more than that. Deceit accepted him, flaws and all. And Roman planned on returning the favor ten fold.


End file.
